Frostbitten

Chapter 7

I think I should put a warning at the beginning of this chapter only because it gets a little dark at the end. It's nothing terribly awful considering you've probably watched most/all of the Marvel movies if you're reading this and those can get really dark. So nothing worse than that I guess.

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It has been a few weeks and I found it best not to question the orders of my master. I stood in the training room and practiced my hand to hand knife skills. I heard the door open behind me, but did not stop training.

"Stop. You are doing well today." My master told me. I obeyed immediately, turning to face him.

He looked to the side, "Go get those mats and lay them on the ground." He said. "You will fight me."

I gulped when I heard what he said and began to set up the mats. Catching a glimpse of myself in the reflection of the mirror, I noticed how much I had changed. Weeks of training was strengthening my arms and bringing out my muscles, Hydra had cut my hair so it just barely covered my ears, and my face was expressionless. Once I had gotten the mats set up, my master moved to stand opposite me.

He suddenly lunged toward me with his fist outstretched and he almost hit me. He threw his elbow near my jaw and I dodged just in time. He threw a right hook at my head and I moved, but not enough and he caught my nose. Stumbling back, I clutched at my nose only for my hand to come away bloody. He pulled back again, preparing for a hit but I grabbed his fist before it connected with my jaw. I yanked his arm, pulling him toward me and ran at him with my head. Big mistake. He recovered sooner than I anticipated, grabbed the sides of my head and thrust me toward the ground. I laid on the floor, stunned, and my master declared the fight over. He had one.

"You fought well, my child." He praised. "I believe you are ready for the next stage in your training."

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I was allowed to change out of my sweaty clothes before meeting my master in another room. I opened my door to leave and was greeted by a man I was introduced to as Dr. Arnim Zola.

"I am to lead you to your meeting with Mr. Schmidt." He told me in a thick accent. I recognized him from somewhere, but I couldn't place it. We walked in silence until stopping at a metal door where the doctor told me to knock and then go in. He had other things to attend to so he wasn't able to stay.

I did as I was told and walked in to a dimly lit, empty room, save for the person sitting in a chair in the middle of the room. He had a bag on his head.

"I see the good doctor led you to the right place." A voice said from a dark corner of the room. I turned to see my master leaning against the wall. He walked over to me and explained that the man in the middle of the room was a traitor to Hydra and needed to be dealt with accordingly. My master handed me a gun and I realized in horror what he wanted me to do. Frozen in my tracks, I stared at the faceless body sitting helplessly in the chair. I bit my lip hard, almost drawing blood.

"What are you waiting for?" Called my master. I hardly heard him over the sound of my racing heart.

"If you are loyal to Hydra then you know what must be done!" He said, ripping the bag off the mans head. What I saw was an innocent man, begging with his eyes for me to let him live.

My voice shook as I spoke, "I...I...can't do it. I can't kill an innocent man."

Everything that happened next is hazy; I felt the gun being pulled from my hand and heard it go off. I saw the man's body go limp, smelled the smoke from the gun, and tasted blood from where I bit my lip. I stood still in shock as I was flooded with every emotion possible.

I heard my master talking to someone, "She cannot be trusted in this state. We need her to comply with every order we give. Put her in the chamber until we have a viable solution for her disobedience."

I felt rough hands grabbing me and my legs moved without my consent. I walked wherever they led.

I came around long enough to see a metal container about the size of a human and many machines hooked up to it. They led me toward the pod and I went without a fight.

I stood inside while they turned on the machines; I watched Dr. Zola hook up cords and pipes to everything imaginable and felt no emotions at all. Soon they closed the door the the chamber and I felt lonelier than ever. All of a sudden I was very cold, and I kept getting colder. It didn't feel bad though, I liked the cold, it made me want to sleep. I thought of the man I had just seen shot and wondered what his name was, if he had any kids, a wife, maybe a girlfriend. Then I thought of Steve and how much I missed him. Everything was so quiet and I was so tired. I closed my eyes, and didn't open them for a long time.